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If you are the fence about buying tickets just do it!! This was hands down the best experience I’ve ever had flying kites! John went out of his way to make sure he listened to all our needs. He spent countless hours just letting us fly and coaching us! He was not afraid to teach us any of his secrets and was an open book. We enjoyed the countless hours we spend just talking and getting to know each other as well. To just sit and watch him fly both indoors and out was so awesome! He was also such a great sport to tag along on some family obligations which we were able to get some flying in as well that day. He could not have been an easier guest in our home. He is so genuine and easy going it takes just a minute to feel right at home with him. In a nutshell go for it! This will be something you’ll never regret! Sent from my IPhone

Dramatized story coming So since i'm on holidays, yesterday I decided to take my kites out for a spin. wind was very low but then gradually picked up to 10-12km/h. At this point i was experimenting with turbo vs 3p bridle on the sf (and i by far prefer the 3p right now). So here i am floating around. managed some axels and lazy suzans and occasionally landing on the nose. no full impact high speed lawn darts mind you, but little taps. Following one of what i called "gentle taps" my kite was on the leading edge. no problemo: cartwheeled like a pro (felt proud of me) and relaunched. and that thing was LOUD. Thought to myself "oh well, must've loosen the leechline on that little impact". so i land (still like a pro. worked hard not to look like an idiot in front of an audience...of which there was none that day ) and walked towards the kite. This is where i got my first "oh crap" moment. from the distance i could si the sail all crinkled up at the centre +. ok no biggie maybe the + moved. been there, done that. So i move to the kite, straigten the sail. no rip/tear so that's good. so i try to move the plastic + piece up... and oddly it's right where it was supposed to be on the centre spine.... that's odd..... so i pull on the keel and felt slack under the velcro. I was like "oh crap, i broke a spine......". so i brought the kite towards my field bag, already calculating how long would replacement parts take to come (at least 2-3weeks). unfastened the velcro and the cylindrical weight falls out along with a piece of plastic. and i'm like "great, the keel T piece broke too". proceeded to check out the actual spine and.... it is perfectly intact.... But it made no sense. it was too short so something must be missing...... My moment of confusion passing, i take the keel T and try to fit it in the spine.. hmmm doesn't fit... wait what about the plastic piece that i thought broke off?.... oh wait it's a c-clip... a small c-clip.... putting 2 and 2 together i concluded that there should be a carbon rod in there between the keel and the spine. but where is it? I let out another "oh crap" as i raise my eyes, gazing at the football field as i contemplate the possibility of having to look for a carbon rod in the grass... So i set off in my search (so much for not looking like an idiot) as i was thinking how to replace it (i'm into archery as well so i got plenty of 5.5mm carbon rods lying around). then it hit me: i store my upper spreader in the lower spreader..... what if.... literally ran back to the kite. removed the spine, shook it and it rattles!!. a few taps and the rod comes out! The let out the loudest sigh of relief ever! So back home, glued the c clip back. and now writing to you while i wait for it to cure fully. In retrospect i was lucky i didn't break anything... even luckier i didn't loose the weight and c-clip. tl/dr idiot thought he broke his kite. drama ensued

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the first day of the Carolina Kite Festival due to a family emergency. The second day was canceled because of the weather (rain and high winds). However, I was able to get to the kite shop before the festival and see what the featured guests and kitebuilders, Ray Wong and Randy Tom, had brought with them. And I just had to put a new kite in my bag. This is the Warrior Princess Edo that Randy Tom made this year. It flies beautifully and looks so striking in the sky. (I did get to the flying fields for about 30 minutes late Saturday.) I also got to spend some time talking to Ray and Randy about kite building, applique techniques and air brushing. Learned a lot in just a short time.

I'm in ! I have always wanted to try one of these...

Totally agree!!!!! Great advice. Reckon they are punched not drilled when manufactured they are so internally jagged. Cut the hog clips and discard. Warm the caps in hot water and you can stretch them easily to get the leaders through one hole when reassembling them.

I'm in, looks like a nice one.

for sure in

Nice kite! I’m in, thanks

I'm in If I win, I will ship to Arizona

I think a team-dedicated weekend would be far more beneficial for the many, especially following a general quad clinic. You'll all be stoked too, my 101 information expanded quite a lot during our Europe trip this year - just gets deeper and deeper.

Salt and sand are the worst enemies of sails or lines. Get in the habit of doing these things to get the longest life out of your gear. 1 - Rinse your kite with fresh water at very gentle pressures. Knocks all the sand off, cleans all the salt out. Bridles too. Both will eventually eat your stuff, but you can delay that with good cleaning habits. Got a Rev 1 from about 1998 in my bag in great condition. 2 - Rinse your lines regularly. No need to unwind, it does help to wind loosely though. Just put winder and lines in a tub big enough to hold them. Maybe add a few drops of detergent to the water. Place on a towel to dry after the soak. You'll be surprised to see how much sand comes out of them. And the soaking dissolves the salt crystals and prevents build up. Lines do wear out eventually. As a team flier, I go though almost 2 sets every year. Crossing lines is very wearing. 3 - Swap your lines end to end. If you have always used your lines in one direction, try turning them around. The wear spot from crossing will happen in a different place. Never tried the Sewer's Aid myself, sorry. You can remove the rings on the handles and make your own snag-less ones. Use an 8-10 wallboard anchor and screw to replace them. Works really well and is a cheap alternative to buying new handles. That video walks you through the job, should take around a hour to do a set, less if you're handy with tools. Holds up for a very long time.